The  following  pages  contain 
a  reprint  from 

fflje  Christian  atroocate 

of  March  22,  29,  and  April  5 

1900 


/^\NE  of  the  most  interesting 
chapters  in  missionary 
annals  of  the  Methodist  Epis¬ 


copal  Church  is  that  which 
relates  the  story  of  the  Meth¬ 
odist  Episcopal  Memorial  Pub¬ 
lishing  House  at  Madras.  . 


— Christian  Advocate  of  cMarch  22, 

mo  .  .  . . . 


¥ 

¥ 


HE  Indo-American  Bible  Booklet  Society  is 
chartered  in  conformity  with  the  provisions 
of  the  laws  of  the  State  of  Maryland,  and  the 
charter  is  signed  by  the  Hon.  Henry  D.  Harlan,  one 
of  the  judges  of  the  Supreme  Bench  of  Baltimore  city. 
It  was  formed  for  the  purpose  of  circulating  free,  in 
all  the  languages  in  which  the  Bible  is  printed,  hun¬ 
dreds  of  millions  of  pages  in  sixteen-page  booklets. 
A  specimen  page  containing  some  verses  from  the 


MAHRATTE 

-  -  *  V-  -  V  V  -  1  -  fv 

STft* 

jcricr^vpir,  sprot  «Pir  k 
sjirasra  nratfte.  $t  srer 

&  vjsr,  ^ 

wmsfr  3tt^  ^  vjwr, 

t  Srsr- 

*n^r  It  vist,  it 

^ttTnr  gtifte,, 

Beatitudes  in  the  Mahratti  language  is  herewith  given. 
According  to  the  provisions  of  the  charter  all  donors 
of  one  dollar  and  upward  will  receive  a  certificate,  on 
the  reverse  side  of  which  is  printed  a  Guarantee 
that  the  interest  will  be  invested  annually  in  the  man¬ 
ufacture  and  cost  of  free  distribution  of  Bible  Book¬ 
lets  among  the  heathen  in  all  lands  and  countries  and 
islands  of  the  sea.  For  further  information,  address 

Rev*  A.  W.  RUDISILL, 

1227  Myrtle  Avenue,  Baltimore,  Md* 


Editorial  from  44  Christian  Advocate  ” 
of  March  2 2,  1900 


O 


On 


"  Cs 


A 


On  pages  13-15  of  this  number 

The  Methodist  Publish-  of  The  Christian  Advocate 
mg'  House  at  Madras  appears  the  first  of  several  arti¬ 
cles  relating  to  the  founding  and 
work  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Publishing  House  in  Madras, 
India.  A  more  interesting  chapter  is  not  to  be  found  in  the 
missionary  history  of  our  Church.  Dr.  A.  W.  Rudisill,  the 
agent  of  the  Publishing  House,  and  .the  chief  instrument  of  its 
inception  and  development,  is  now  in  this  country,  and  is  much 
sought  after  by  Conferences,  missionary  conventions,  and 
churches  for  the  presentation  of  his  work.  His  address  before 
the  Hew  York  Preachers’  Meeting  two  weeks  ago  was  of  the 
deepest  interest  and  value,  and  gave  the  ministers  a  clear  insight 
into  the  work  of  our  Church  in  India.  The  publishing  estab¬ 
lishment  in  Madras  is  a  remarkable  institution,  and  is  achieving 
great  things  for  Christianity ;  and  if  it  were  placed  upon  a  better 
financial  basis,  its  possibilities  for  usefulness  would  be  wonder¬ 
fully  increased. 

Among  the  publications  of  this  press  is  "The  Bible  Booklet,” 
a  small  book  of  not  more  than  sixteen  pages,  two  by  three  inches, 
containing  selections  from  the  Scriptures,  which  is  manufac¬ 
tured  at  a  cost  of  fifty  thousand  pages  for  one  dollar.  For  the 
dissemination  of  this  booklet  by  the  million  throughout  the 
heathen  world  a  society  has  been  organized,  the  president  of 
which  is  Bishop  Thoburn,  who  says,  "For  years  I  have  wished 
to  see  printed  pages  of  Gospel  truth  scattered  like  leaves  of 
autumn  all  over  this  Eastern  world,  and  here  at  last  is  a  plan 
for  realizing  what  I  have  so  long  cherished  as  a  waking  dream.” 

This  "Bible  Booklet”  society  guarantees  that  the  interest  upon 
the  subscriptions  to  its  endowment  fund  will  be  devoted  annually 
to  the  manufacture  and  free  distribution  of  the  booklets  among 
the  heathen.  Here  is  an  opportunity  for  the  investment  of 
money  in  a  way  that  will  become  a  perpetual  blessing  to  those 
who  dwell  in  darkness.  Should  any  of  our  readers  desire  more 
explicit  information  or  feel  disposed  to  help  this  good  cause,  let 
them  communicate  with  A.  W.  Rudisill,  D.D.,  1227  Myrtle 
Avenue,  Baltimore,  Mel. 


i 


I 


A  Unique  and  Valuable  Missionary 

Agency 

By  A.  W.  Rudisill,  D.D. 

[One  of  the  most  interesting  chapters  in  the  missionary  an¬ 
nals  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  is  that  which  relates  the 
story  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Memorial  Publishing  House  at 
Madras,  India.  The  chief  human  instrument  in  this  wonderful 
work  is  A.  W.  Rudisill,  D.D.,  who  has  consented  to  acquaint  the 
readers  of  The  Christian  Advocate  with  some  of  the  facts 
concerning  the  inception  and  development  of  this  important 
enterprise  and  successful  agency  for  the  dissemination  of  the 
Gospel  of  Christ.  Dr.  Rudisill’s  story  is  as  follows :] 

How  I  Came  to  Oo  to  India,  and  Inception  of  the  Enterprise 

About  the  middle  of  1884,  while  in  my  second  year  as  presiding 
elder  of  the  West  Baltimore  District  of  Baltimore  Conference,  a 
question  suddenly  swept  through  my  mind  one  day,  “Will  you  leave 
your  present  field  and  go  into  a  foreign?”  I  paid  no  attention  at 
first,  supposing  it  was  a  freak  of  fancy.  As  the  day  wore  away, 
while  my  mind  was  in  full  play,  I  found  to  my  surprise  that  from  a 
sort  of  flitting  through  my  thought  the  question  would  repeat  itself. 
When  it  assumed  this  more  serious  aspect  I  attributed  it  to  an  in* 
flamed  imagination,  but  after  a  few  days  it  seemed  to  move  steadily 
as  a  plowshare,  making  deep  furrows  into  my  soul,  and  I  ex¬ 
claimed,  “Speak,  Lord,  for  thy  servant  heareth.”  Many  objections 
presented  themselves,  but  at  last  I  consulted  my  wife  about  the  mat¬ 
ter,  and  together  we  agreed  that  if  the  call  was  of  God,  it  was  not 
necessary  for  me  to  offer  my  services,  but  that  God  would  put  it 
into  the  hearts  of  those  in  authority  to  ask  me  if  I  were  willing  to 
go.  And  I  also  believed  that  He  would  lead  my  wife  in  the  same 
way  that  He  had  led  me.  It  was  not  long  before  she  declared  her 
willingness  to  accompany  me  to  India. 

We  now  agreed  that  if  this  was  of  God,  I  would  be  asked  to  go  be¬ 
fore  I  mentioned  this  impression  to  a  living  soul.  Without  any 
planning  on  my  part  I  was  asked  by  a  member  of  the  Missionary 
Board  whether  I  would  be  willing  to  take  up  work  in  southern  India. 
I  replied  in  the  affirmative.  Within  a  few  days  I  received  a  letter 
from  Bishop  Taylor  urging  me  to  join  South  India  Conference. 

Shortly  after  a  presiding  elder  from  South  India  Conference 
lectured  in  one  of  the  Baltimore  churches.  I  had  never  before  seen 
him,  and  was  introduced  to  him  at  the  close.  He  said,  “My  brother, 
you  have  consented  to  come  to  India;  have  you  any  wish  to  express 
as  to  your  appointment?”  I  replied,  “None  whatever;  I  am  ready  to 


2 


A  Unique  and  Valuable  Missionary  Agency 


3 


go  to  any  appointment  I  am  assigned.”  Being  blessed  with  a  com¬ 
panion  who  encouraged  me  to  trust  in  this  manner,  I  could  speak  the 
more  freely.  Some  in  conversation  and  others  in  their  prayers  ex¬ 
pressed  pity  for  my  wife.  Such  a  woman  is  not  to  be  pitied,  but  to 
be  emulated.  We  left  our  comfortable  home,  sold  our  furniture,  and 
sailed  for  India.  We  went  out  not  knowing  whither  we  went,  but 
during  all  this  time  I  never  detected  in  her  the  slightest  degree  of 
anxiety  as  to  where  our  home  would  be. 

After  it  was  fully  settled  that  I  would  go  to  India,  while  on  a  visit 
to  my  father  at  York,  Pa.,  he  urged  me  to  accept  a  small  press,  print- 


a  corner  of  the  press  room 
Methodist  Episcopal  Memorial  Publishing  House,  Madras,  India 

V 

ing  a  card  four  by  six  inches.  I  hesitated  to  accept  it,  thinking  it 
would  only  be  an  additional  burden,  but  finally  consented,  solely  to 
avoid  hurting  his  feelings.  During  my  boyhood  my  father  was  the 
proprietor  and  editor  of  a  monthly  magazine.  At  the  age  of  sixteen 
years  I  had  worked  in  every  department  of  a  printing  office,  from 
the  first  duties  of  an  apprentice  to  those  of  a  compositor  and  press¬ 
man. 

After  that  it  occurred  to  me  that  as  I  had  this  practical  knowledge 
of  printing  I  might,  in  connection  with  my  pastoral  work,  print 
tracts  in  the  vernacular.  I  banished  the  thought,  however,  after  re¬ 
flection,  knowing  well  the  difficulties  attending  such  an  undertaking. 
Not  the  least  obstacle  in  the  way  was  the  great  sum  I  supposed  it 
would  require  to  fit  up  a  printing  office  in  India.  I  determined, 
therefore,  not  to  ask  anyone  for  money,  nor  even  to  mention  that  I 


4  A  Unique  and  Valuable  Missionary  Agency 

entertained  a  thought  of  purchasing  printing  material  for  India, 
until  I  saw  that  Providence  was  pointing  in  that  direction.  I  made 
that  matter  a  subject  for  prayer,  and  concluded  that  if  some  one 
would  hand  me  a  sum  of  money,  stating  that  it  was  not  for  my  own 


A.  W.  RUDISILL,  D.D. 

Agent  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Memorial  Publishing  House,  Madras,  India 

support,  but  that  I  should  use  it  in  some  way  in  India,  I  would  re¬ 
gard  such  a  gift  as  an  indication  that  God  was  in  the  suggestion. 

Shortly  after  I  preached  at  Wolfsville,  Md.,  on  Smithburg  Circuit. 
The  Rev.  Phillip  Edwards,  the  pastor,  and  I  were  the  guests  of  Mr. 
J.  H.  Morgan,  a  merchant  whom  I  had  never  met  before.  It  was 
Saturday,  a  very  busy  day  with  country  merchants,  so  that  he  had 
scarce  any  time  for  conversation.  On  Sunday  morning,  after 
prayers,  he  said,  “While  engaged  in  my  private  devotions  this 


A  Unique  and  Valuable  Missionary  Agency 


5 


morning  I  was  deeply  impressed  that  I  ought  to  give  you  five  dollars, 
not  for  your  own  use,  but  for  the  cause  of  the  Master  in  India.”  As 
he  handed  me  the  money  I  realized  that  this  was  in  answer  to  prayer, 
and  felt  sure  it  was  the  beginning  of  a  series  of  gifts  that  would  en¬ 
able  me  to  use  the  press  as  an  agency  for  good.  Without  solicitation 
I  received  nearly  $200. 

After  beginning  my  work  in  India,  on  learning  that  I  had  some 
money  and  a  little  printing  press,  the  missionaries  on  the  district 
and  native  Christians  strongly  advised  me  to  begin  a  Mission  Press. 
In  the  meantime  the  General  Publishing  Committee  of  our  work  in 
India  appointed  me  “Agent  of  the  Madras  Mission  Press  ”  Shortly 
after  Miss  Thoburn  urged  that  we  print  a  Tamil  edition  of  “The 
Woman’s  Friend,”  and  secured  from  the  Woman’s  Foreign  Mission¬ 
ary  Society  a  monthly  appropriation  to  defray  the  expense  of  publi¬ 
cation.  Bishop  Thoburn,  who  was  then  presiding  elder  of  the  Cal¬ 
cutta  District,  by  word  and  by  letter  pointed  out  the  necessity  of 
meeting  at  once  the  growing  need  of  a  Mission  Press  in  southern 
India,  and  advised  me  to  begin  the  work. 

During  the  latter  part  of  the  year  1885  such  an  accumulation  of 
providential  unfoldings  made  their  appearance  that  I  could  not  doubt 
my  call  to  this  work,  and  in  a  small'  room  in  the  parsonage  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  church,  Vepery,  Madras,  on  the  little  press 
given  by  my  father,  the  capacity  of  which  was  a  page  four  by  six 
inches,  after  putting  in  type  in  the  Tamil  language  John  3.  16,  “For 
God  so  loved  the  world,  that  He  gave  His  only  begotten  Son,  that 
whosoever  believeth  in  Him  should  not  perish,  but  have  everlasting 
life,”  my  wife,  our  little  boy  Harry,  and  Jacob,  a  native  Christian, 
each  offered  prayer,  and  I  struck  off  the  first  impression. 

During  1886  a  few  native  compositors  were  employed,  and  suffi¬ 
cient  English  and  Tamil  type  was  purchased  to  make  up  double 
royal  forms;  but  not  having  a  machine  sufficiently  large,  they  were 
taken  to  the  government  press  and  printed.  In  the  beginning  of  the 
year  1887  Mr.  and  Miss  Alnutt  sent  an  additional  contribution  of 
$300  to  purchase  a  double  royal  hand  printing  press  and  office  fur¬ 
niture.  More  hands  were  employed,  and  a  fully  equipped  printing 
office  was  begun  in  the  parsonage. 

After  some  months  a  long  narrow  building,  located  on  the  Vepery 
Church  property,  was  rented  from  the  trustees,  and  the  plant  moved 
into  it.  Shortly  after  the  secretary  of  the  Madras  Auxiliary  of  the 
British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society  advised  me  to  organize  a  binding 
department.  I  purchased  the  needed  machinery,  employed  work¬ 
men,  and  soon  we  were  binding  portions  of  Scripture  and  Bibles. 

In  1888  the  Rev.  D.  O.  Ernsberger,  our  missionary  to  the  Canarese, 
seeing  the  pressing  need  of  tracts  and  books  for  the  Canarese-speak- 
ing  people  of  southern  Injlia,  collected  $265  to  add  that  vernacular 
to  our  Press.  The  same  year  Rev.  S.  P.  Jacobs,  M.A.,  our  missionary 
at  Hyderabad,  Deccan,  collected  $2,262.50.  Among  the  donors  of  this 


6 


A  Unique  and  Valuable  Missionary  Agency 


amount  was  Bishop  William  Taylor,  who  gave  $100;  the  founder  of 
our  work  in  all  southern  India  well  knew  the  great  need  of  a  Mission 
Press.  Also  Mrs.  J.  H.  Stevens,  of  Manchester,  la.,  gave  $1,000  to 
purchase  a  cylinder  printing  machine  as  a  memorial  to  her  son,  N. 
H.  Stevens.  Deccan-Hindustani  was  also  added  to  the  vernaculars 
printed,  so  that  at  the  close  of  1888  over  thirty  hands  were  employed, 
printing  was  done  in  five  languages,  and  a  binding  department  was 
in  full  operation. 

In  July,  1889,  the  deepest  of  sorrows  came  into  my  life — my  pre¬ 
cious  wife  died.  For  some  time  my  health  had  been  failing,  and 
shortly  after  the  death  of  my  wife  I  was  ordered  home  by  my  phy¬ 
sician. 

My  health  was  slow  in  returning,  but  in  1891  I  felt  that  I  had 
further  work  to  do  for  the  Mission  Press  at  Madras.  Experience 
made  it  evident  that  the  time  had  come  when  new  features  must  be 
introduced  into  the  work  of  the  Publishing  House  in  India.  A  general 
impression  prevailed  among  missionaries  that  Christian  literature 
should  be  made  more  attractive  and  illustrated  with  scenes  and  in¬ 
cidents  familiar  to  the  natives.  To  do  this  we  must  make  pictures 
on  the  spot,  and  not  buy  them  in  America  or  Europe. 

So  essential  is  an  electrotyping  foundry  in  this  time  of  rapid  ad¬ 
vance  in  cheap  publications  that  no  publishing  house  in  American  or 
European  cities  can  engage  in  the  whirl  of  competition  in  cheap  as 
well  as  artistic  bookmaking  without  its  aid.  Not  until  electrotypes 
are  used  in  vernacular  printing  can  large  editions  of  books  be 
printed  at  small  cost. 

The  stereopticon,  with  its  brilliant  lime  lights,  also  -would  enable 
tens  of  thousands  to  witness  illustrated  Gospel  sermons,  and  be  made 
a  most  effective  method  of  calling  attention  to  distributing  and  sell¬ 
ing  Christian  literature.  During  the  native  feasts,  or  melas,  an 
immense  screen  might  be  erected,  illustrated  sermons  projected  upon 
it,  and  then  from  booths  brilliantly  illuminated  by  electricity  these 
sermons  could  be  sold. 

In  the  spring  of  1892  I  submitted  to  Bishop  Thoburn  and  Dr.  J.  O. 
Peck,  Missionary  Secretary,  a  plan  by  which  photo-engraving,  elec¬ 
trotyping,  and  the  stereopticon,  if  introduced  into  the  Madras  Meth¬ 
odist  Episcopal  Publishing  House,  would  each  be  made  to  contribute 
toward  spreading  the  Gospel  among  the  people  of  India.  The  plan 
was  heartily  indorsed. 

To  introduce  in  our  Madras  Publishing  House  the  departments 
proposed,  including  the  purchase  of  ground  and  suitable  buildings, 
the  sum  of  $25,000  would  be  required.  While  special  departments 
might  be  named  for  any  who  would  endow  them,  it  was  my  earnest 
desire  that  the  Publishing  House  as  a  whole  should  stand  as  a  me¬ 
morial  to  my  departed  wife.  9 

Up  to  Sept.  1,  1893,  I  had  received  through  a  lecture  and  other 
voluntary  contributions  the  sum  of  $12,000,  and  by  carrying  a  rea- 


A  Unique  and  Valuable  Missionary  Agency 


7 


sonable  debt  I  had  fixed  upon  $19,000  as  sufficient  to  justify  our  pro¬ 
ceeding  to  India  and  beginning  operations.  In  the  summer  the  out¬ 
look  was  bright  enough,  because  with  little  difficulty  I  made  engage¬ 
ments  to  deliver  that  same  lecture  in  towns  and  cities  reaching  from 
Cleveland,  O.,  to  Duluth,  Minn.,  and  then  purposed  returning  to 
Baltimore  by  a  southern  route.  Taking  the  past  as  a  criterion,  it 
seemed  probable  that  the  remaining  $7,000  would  be  contributed  in 
time  to  sail  for  India  the  latter  part  of  December.  In  less  than  two 
months  $7,000  in  cash  was  placed  in  my  hands,  and  when  the  ap¬ 
pointed  time  arrived  passage  was  engaged  for  Madras. 

How  I  Got  the  Ground 

On  the  morning  of  my  arrival  in  Madras,  Feb.  7,  1894,  I  saw  that 
the  long  narrow  building  on  the  parsonage  lot  was  inadequate  to 
accommodate  our  increased  plant.  Immediately  after  breakfast,  in 
company  with  one  of  our  missionaries,  I  went  in  search  of  new  quar¬ 
ters  for  our  Press. 

Miss  Elizabeth  J.  Alnutt,  of  Baltimore  city,  had  given  me  $5,000 
which  I  might  invest  in  purchasing  a  site.  After  searching  for  four 
or  five  hours  without  finding  a  suitable  place  that  could  be  pur¬ 
chased,  I  suggested  going  to  Mount  Road,  the  “Fifth  Avenue”  of 
Madras,  not  thinking  for  a  moment  that  it  would  be  possible  to  se¬ 
cure  a  site  in  such  a  locality. 

As  we  were  passing  by  a  choice  location  I  saw  a  man  with  a  long 
tape  measure  engaged  in  measuring  a  lot.  I  stopped  and  inquired 
the  name  of  the  owner,  and  was  told  that  he  lived  on  the  opposite 
side  of  the  street.  On  inquiry  I  learned  that  I  could  purchase  this 
site  of  two  lots  for  25,000  rupees,  or,  as  exchange  was  at  that  time, 
about  $9,000.  That  evening  we  were  given  a  reception  at  the  home 
of  Miss  Grace  Stephens.  Among  the  guests  was  her  brother,  J.  H. 
Stephens,  Esq.,  one  of  the  leading  architects  of  India,  and  a  compe¬ 
tent  judge  of  building  sites,  who  urged  me  to  purchase  the  Mount 
Road  lots  if  possible.  I  gave  him  100  rupees  as  earnest  money,  and 
requested  him  to  secure  them  at  as  low  a  figure  as  possible.  The 
next  morning  he  secured  them  for  18,000  rupees  instead  of  25,000 
rupees. 

The  lots  have  a  combined  area  of  200  by  250  feet.  They  were 
owned  in  fee  simple,  with  a  title  made  good  by  the  High  Court  of 
Madras. 

Concerning  this  property  Mr.  Stephens  afterward  wrote  me:  “The 
way  you  were  led  to  this  locality  almost  immediately  on  your  arrival 
at  Madras,  and  without  a  word  of  advice  from  anyone,  and  secured 

r 

the  only  available  site,  which  before  had  been  for  a  long  time  in 
dispute  before  the  High  Court,  is  a  miracle  to  all  business  men,  but 
we  know  it  was  from  the  Lord.”  At  the  present  time  these  lots  are 
easily  worth  80,000  rupees. 


8  A  Unique  and  Valuable  Missionary  Agency 

Erecting  the  Buildings 

After  buying  the  lots  the  next  work  to  be  done  was  the  erection  of 
buildings  for  our  Publishing  House,  which  must  be  large  enough  to 
accommodate  the  binding  department,  envelope-making  plant,  com¬ 
posing  department,  comprising  a  complete  set  of  type  for  job  and 
book  work  in  the  Deccan-Hindustani,  English,  Canarese,  Tamil,  and 
Telugu  languages;  the  printing  presses  and  machines,  electrical  ma¬ 
chines  for  lighting  the  building  and  continuing  the  work  of  photo¬ 
engraving,  including  a  studio  for  the  artists,  dark  rooms,  skylights, 
and  whatever  else  is  needed  in  a  first-class  establishment  of  that 
kind;  and,  in  addition,  a  stock  shop,  salesroom,  and  offices. 

To  the  designing  and  erecting  of  a  building  adapted  to  meet  the 
needs  of  all  these  departments  Mr.  Stephens  gave  the  full  benefit  of 
his  experience  and  skill.  In  six  months  from  the  time  it  was  begun 
the  Publishing  House  was  occupied.  As  the  work  of  building  goes 
on  very  slowly  in  India,  this  excited  considerable  notice.  It  is  40  by 
130  feet;  the  rear  section  is  one  story,  the  middle  two  stories,  and 
the  front  three  stories,  to  which  additions  have  been  made  since 
1896.  It  is  built  of  brick,  with  granite  copings  and  terra  cotta  orna¬ 
ments.  The  roof  is  iron  trussed,  covered  with  tiles,  and  all  the 
floors  are  cement.  If  the  material  and  labor  of  this  building  had 
had  to  be  paid  for  at  their  market  value  in  India,  it  would  have  cost 
$8,000;  its  actual  cost  was  $2,500,  Mr.  Stephens  himself  donating  the 
larger  part.  • 

During  the  erection  of  the  Publishing  House  many  curious  things 
happened.  One  Sunday  evening  in  Madras  I  preached  upon  Sabbath 
observance.  At  the  close  of  the  sermon  a  gentleman  approached  me 
and  said,  “It  is  all  very  well  for  you  to  preach,  but  they  were  at  work 
all  day  on  your  Publishing  House.”  Sure  enough!  The  native 
blacksmith  who  had  taken  the  contract  for  making  and  putting  up 
the  iron  trusses  for  the  roof  had  stolen  a  march  on  us,  because  it 
was  cheaper  to  rent  the  derrick  on  Sunday.  Mr.  Stephens  com¬ 
pelled  him  to  take  down  those  he  had  set  up,  let  them  lie  on  the 
ground,  and  reset  them  at  his  own  expense.  This  was  his  rule  if 
employees  broke  the  Sabbath  on  public  works. 

Why  and  How  I  Learned  the  Various  Processes  Used  in  the  Publishing  House 

In  the  spring  of  1895  a  train  of  circumstances  made  it  evident  that 
I  must  abandon  all  idea  of  carrying  out  my  promise  to  the  many 
who  had  contributed  toward  the  founding  of  the  Publishing  House  at 
Madras,  or  I  must  learn  electrotyping,  photo-engraving,  half-tone, 
and  line  work  by  sunlight  and  electric  light,  the  working  of  the 
booklet  machines;  I  must  gain  a  practical  knowledge  of  the  con¬ 
struction  of  the  dynamo,  be  able  to  set  up  an  electric-lighting  plant 
and  do  the  work  of  a  lineman;  I  must  know  how  to  erect  shafting, 
counter-shafting,  calculate  the  speed  of  pulleys,  and  fit  belting;  I 
must  have  a  practical  knowledge  of  half-tone  printing,  which  in¬ 
cludes  underlaying  and  overlaying.  That  I  may  not  be  taken  ad- 


A  Unique  and  Valuable  Missionary  Agency 


9 


vantage  of  in  the  working  of  the  machinery,  I  must  be  able  to  take  an 
engine  apart  and  put  it  together  again  and  run  it.  I  must  know  how 
to  manipulate  a  steam  boiler,  so  that  I  could  avoid  accidents.  I  must 
be  able  to  work  the  stereopticon,  make  .the  gases  used  in  the  lime 
light,  and  also  how  to  “build”  a  stereopticon  after  having  purchased 
such  parts  as  the  lenses  and  dissolvers,  and  make  lantern  slides. 
And  after  having  gone  through  with  the  above  processes  I  must  be 
so  acquainted  with  them  as  to  go  out  in  India,  meet  the  new  con¬ 
ditions  of  climate  in  the  use  of  chemicals,  and  the  many  emergencies 
that  would  arise  in  the  erection  and  moving  of  machinery. 

I  knew  nothing  whatever  about  photography,  but  must  acquire  the 
most  difficult  processes.  I  knew  nothing  about  machinery,  but  I 
must  acquire  the  manipulation  of  twenty-five  different  kinds  of  ma¬ 
chines,  apart  from  the  machinery  used  in  the  printing  and  binding 
departments,  and  the  erection  of  shafting  and  the  fitting  of  belting. 

When  first  dawned  upon  me  the  fact  that  circumstances  had  made 
it  necessary  for  me  to  pass  through  such  a  round  of  work,  or  fail  in 
my  undertaking,  I  was  thrown  into  a  mental  struggle  so  great  that 
at  times  I  lost  my  physical  strength,  so  that  I  was  compelled  to  keep 
in  my  room.  I  could  with  difficulty  walk  about. 

But  it  soon  became  painfully  evident  that  I  must  move  quickly. 
For  a  long,  weary  month  I  sought  admission  into  photo-engraving 
establishments  in  different  cities.  I  was  not  only  refused  even  ad¬ 
mission,  but  looked  upon  as  visionary.  Some  who  had  been  my  best 
friends  advised  me  to  abandon  the  whole  project,  lest  I  should  be 
regarded  as  unfit  for  the  work  of  the  ministry.  The  only  firm  that 
agreed  to  teach  me  photo-engraving  was  one  in  Philadelphia — terms, 
$5,000,  one  half  cash  in  advance! 

Through  the  influence  of  some  friendly  directors  I  was  allowed 
admission  to  some  electric-lighting  plants,  but  soon  found  that  in¬ 
stead  of  teaching  me  the  young  men  in  charge  of  them  regarded  the 
matter  rather  as  jest  than  dead  earnest.  About  all  they  taught  me 
was  the  danger  of  touching  this  and  the  certain  death  that  lurked 
in  handling  that. 

As  for  electrotyping,  I  was  told  by  the  proprietors  of  different 
foundries  that  I  would  be  so  much  in  the  way  of  their  employees 
that  it  was  not  possible  to  teach  me.  Then,  when  heart  and  flesh 
seemed  to  fail,  a  way  for  learning  electrotyping  at  last  opened  un¬ 
expectedly. 

Mr.  William  Hollingsworth,  a  young  machinist,  started  a  shop  in 
Baltimore  city.  I  had  had  some  business  relations  with  him,  and 
as  he  had  recently  removed  to  a  building  which  was  at  that  time 
larger  than  he  required,  it  occurred  to  me  that  I  might  rent  one  of 
the  large  unoccupied  rooms,  and  having  set  up  an  electrotyping  foun¬ 
dry,  engage  some  one  to  teach  me  at  night,  and  I  would  practice 
during  the  day. 

Mr.  Hollingsworth  most  cheerfully  entered  into  the  arrangement, 


10 


A  Unique  and  Valuable  Missionary  Agency 


and  placed  at  my  disposal,  free  of  rent,  a  room  fifty  by  twenty-two  on 
the  second  floor,  and  well  lighted.  Miss  E.  A.  Snyder  furnished  the 
money  and  I  bought  the  machinery.  Mr.  Jesse  G.  Buck,  a  skilled 
electrotyper,  agreed  to  teach  me. 

My  new  workshop  was  fitted  up  with  the  necessary  macninery. 
The  first  thing  I  did  was  to  rent  a  Shipman  engine,  in  which  the 
steam  is  generated  by  kerosene  oil,  just  such  a  one  as  we  were  then 
using  in  our  Press  at  Madras.  I  took  it  apart,  put  it  together,  and 
with  some  instruction  could  run  it  for  my  work  in  the  foundry. 
After  working  day  and  night,  sometimes  till  four  o’clock  in  the 
morning,  for  three  weeks,  I  turned  out  electros  of  book  work,  job 
work,  line  work,  cuts  with  type,  and  half-tones. 

I  sent  samples  of  my  work  to  the  foreman  of  one  of  the  leading 
electrotype  foundries  in  New  York  city.  Without  knowing  who 
made  the  plates,  he  pronounced  them  “all  right.”  Then  I  took  cour¬ 
age  to  proceed  with  the  remainder  of  the  lines  of  work. 

Mr.  Hollingsworth  now  opened  the  third  story  of  the  building  to 
me,  and  I  set  up  a  complete  photo-engraving  establishment.  Mr. 
August  Parchem,  one  of  the  most  skilled  photo-engravers  in  America, 
who  had  worked  for  the  leading  monthly  magazines,  and  was  then 
doing  work  for  a  Southern  periodical,  began  to  take  an  interest  in 
my  work.  He  agreed  to  teach  me  without  charge  if  I  gave  him  a 
pledge  that  I  would  neither  do  photo-engraving  in  America  nor  teach 
anyone  here. 

How  shall  I  ever  forget  his  patient  interest  in  my  progress,  the 
happy  expression  that  appeared  in  his  face  when  I  overcame  any 
difficulty!  He  agreed  to  come  to  my  studio  at  10  p.  m.,  and  work 
with  me  till  midnight.  Sometimes  he  stayed  till  nearly  two  o’clock! 
We  worked  by  the  arc  light  which  I  had  put  in  the  room.  In  day¬ 
time  I  worked  by  sunlight,  except  on  cloudy  days,  when  I  used  the 
electric  light.  In  less  than  one  month  from  the  time  I  began  he 
passed  my  work  and  said  I  was  ready  to  set  up  a  plant  in  India. 

I  next  took  lessons  in  what  is  called  underlaying  and  overlaying 
in  half-tone  printing.  Then  I  went  to  Erie,  Pa.,  and  took  a  course 
of  instruction  in  fitting  together  the  parts  of  the  dynamo  and  run¬ 
ning  it.  Also  the  principles  of  wiring,  including  the  hanging  of 
arc,  incandescent,  and  other  small  electric  lamps.  At  Warren,  Pa., 
I  took  a  course  of  instruction  in  the  booklet  machines.  At  Mr.  Hol¬ 
lingsworth’s  machine  shop  I  studied  the  erection  of  shafting, 
counter-shafting,  and  the  fitting  of  belts  and  pulleys.  In  everything 
I  kept  copies  of  my  failures  and  kept  a  record  of  the  reasons.  I 
purchased  available  standard  books  on  all  the  subjects  I  studied.  I 
kept  a  diary  of  my  work,  and  noted  down  the  chemicals  and  propor¬ 
tions  in  which  they  were  used.  If  it  had  not  been  for  this  written 
record  of  my  failures  and  successes,  I  never  could  have  repeated 
these  various  lines  of  work.  The  entire  time  occupied  in  this  work 
was  less  than  four  months. 


A  Unique  and  Valuable  Missionary  Agency 


11 


Mastering  Details  in  India 

There  was  so  much  to  do  during  the  regular  working  hours  of  the 
Press  that  no  time  was  left  to  practice  and  teach  my  newly  acquired 
lines  of  work,  except  early  in  the  morning  and  late  in  the  evening; 
also  Mount  Road,  where  our  Publishing  House  is  located,  being  nearly 
three  miles  distant  from  Vepery  parsonage,  made  it  impracticable  to 
utilize  these  odd  times  away  from  home.  The  trustees  of  our  Vepery 
property,  always  ready  to  lend  a  helping  hand  in  the  work  of  the 
Press,  cheerfully  gave  me  permission  to  erect  temporary  buildings  in 
the  parsonage  “compound,”  or  grounds,  and  to  use  some  of  the  rooms 
in  the  parsonage  itself,  to  set  in  operation  electrotyping  and  photo¬ 
engraving  as  I  had  learned  them  at  home. 

The  most  suitable  place  for  a  “dark”  room  was  the  little  apartment 
in  Vepery  parsonage  in  which  ten  years  before  I  began  in  the  most 
humble  way  the  printing  of  tracts,  and  in  this  room  I  now  began  my 
first  photo-engraving  work  in  India. 

Like  some  one  who  is  in  a  dark  cave,  with  but  one  match  left  to 
light  the  candle  that  will  enable  him  to  reach  the  light,  so  I  found 
that  one  of  the  most  useful  chemicals  had,  because  of  its  highly 
explosive  character,  within  that  year  been  entirely  prohibited 
from  being  sent  across  the  seas  from  England,  and  the  supply  in 
Madras  and  Bombay  and,  as  far  as  I  could  learn,  in  all  other  parts 
of  India  had  been  exhausted,  and  there  was  only  sufficient  left  of  our 
stock  to  make  a  few  negatives.  It  can  be  imagined  with  what  keen 
anxiety  I  learned  of  this  state  of  affairs.  I  was  so  eager  to  utilize 
to  the  best  advantage  the  precious  little  that  remained  that  I  shrank 
from  touching  it,  and  several  days  passed  before  I  ventured  to  make 
my  first  trial. 

Notwithstanding  my  new  surroundings  and  absence  from  my 
teacher,  I  succeeded  in  making  my  first  negative  in  India  the  best  I 
had  up  to  date  produced. 

It  is  impossible  to  tell  how  grateful  I  felt  to  God,  who  had  so  gra¬ 
ciously  helped  me  thus  far  to  meet  every  emergency;  it  seemed  to  me 
the  crisis  I  so  much  dreaded  was  now  passed,  especially  when  the 
engraving  was  completed,  the  first  proof  taken,  and  pronounced  by 
one  of  the  critics  “as  good  as  they  do  it  in  England.”  The  order  was 
given  for  one  thousand  copies,  and  I  felt  like  a  little  boy  with  his 
first  earnings  when  the  money  was  paid  and  the  hope  of  years  real¬ 
ized;  for  the  moment  I  forgot  that  I  was  now  without,  perhaps,  the 
most  essential  chemical  needed  to  produce  half-tone  work. 

In  preparing  glass  for  a  half-tone  negative  we  use  three  distinct 
preparations;  the  third  and  final  one  is  composed  of  seven  ingre¬ 
dients,  one  of  which  is  commonly  known  as  gun  cotton.  It  seemed 
as  though  the  prohibition  by  the  government  of  importing  gun  cotton 
would  put  an  end  to  half-tone  engraving  in  our  Publishing  House, 
until  one  day  I  found  that  the  surgeons  in  the  Madras  Hospital  use 
a  preparation  composed  of  three  ingredients,  each  of  which  is  found 


12 


A  Unique  and  Valuable  Missionary  Agency 


in  the  seven  above  mentioned,  and  one  of  these  three  is  gun  cotton, 
held  in  solution  by  the  other  two.  In  this  solution,  by  condition,  it 
loses  its  highly  explosive  character.  Analysis,  however,  revealed  the 
fact  that  the  proportions  in  the  surgeons’  preparation  were  not  simi¬ 
lar  to  those  used  for  photo-engraving,  but  that  sufficient  gun  cotton 
was  held  in  solution  to  make  that  a  unit  of  quantity.  It  was,  there¬ 
fore,  an  easy  matter  to  adjust  the  proportions  and  add  the  remaining 
four  ingredients.  Having  done  all  this  with  great  care,  I  allowed 
the  improvised  mixture  to  stand  the  usual  time  required  in  such 
cases,  and  then,  full  of  expectation,  took  a  negative,  and  instead  of  a 
picture  got  a  passable  cloud  effect!  For  days  and  weeks,  with  the 
first  beams  that  darted  from  the  rising  sun,  I  toiled  until  the  last 
rays  of  the  setting  sun  lingered  and  played  about  the  copy  before 
the  camera,  but  no  picture  appeared  on  the  sensitized  glass. 

In  the  meantime  I  was  so  hindered  in  my  movements  by  a  growing 
abscess  that  at  last,  through  pain  and  exhaustion,  I  was  compelled  to 
keep  in  bed.  Things  looked  gloomy  enough,  and  I  lay  wondering 
how  deliverance  would  come,  because  I  never  doubted  for  a  moment 
that  it  would  come. 

Before  leaving  home  I  suggested  to  my  wife  that  as  the  Publishing 
House  work  in  India  would  be  many-sided,  it  would  be  well  for  her 
to  gain  a  practical  knowledge  of  photo-engraving,  and  then  super¬ 
intend  that  department.  As  soon  as  I  set  up  the  plant  in  the  par¬ 
sonage  she  entered  upon  her  work  with  great  zeal,  and  by  the  time 
I  was  laid  up  with  the  abscess  she  was  able  to  go  through  all  the 
manipulations  of  the  negative,  and  as  I  lay  in  my  bed  took  up  the 
work.  Failure  after  failure  was  the  only  result.  One  day,  as  I  lay 
in  a  half-awake  state,  she  brought  into  the  room  a  gcod,  clear  nega¬ 
tive.  I  held  it  before  the  light,  examined  it  with  a  magnifying  glass, 
and,  sure  enough,  it  was,  as  my  teacher  used  to  say,  “All  right.” 

It  was  a  surprise  that  this  new  preparation  should  work  so  sud¬ 
denly,  and  for  awhile  it  was  a  mystery.  In  this  case,  however,  the 
old  proverb  was  literally  true,  that  “time  and  practice  conquer  all 
things.”  Time  brought  the  chemicals  into  working  condition.  By 

v 

marking  the  date  upon  the  bottle,  both  of  mixing  and  of  its  work¬ 
ings,  and  comparing  results  afterward,  we  found  a  certain  amount 
of  time  must  elapse  before  the  solution  was  fit  for  use. 

But  this  was  not  the  end  of  my  troubles.  Sometimes  this  “hos¬ 
pital”  preparation  varied  in  quality  and  slightly  in  the  proportions 
of  ingredients.  Still  we  struggled  on,  and  procured  results  which 
satisfied  our.  patrons. 

Experiences  with  Machinery 

I  am  sure  that  all  our  missionaries  in  India  thanked  God  and  took 
courage  when  they  heard  that  Bishop  Foss  and  Dr.  Goucher  would 
make  an  official  visit  to  this  land,  so  full  of  the  triumphs  of  mission¬ 
ary  labor.  I  too  rejoiced,  not  only  for  the  sake  of  our  general  work, 


A  Unique  and  Valuable  Missionary  Agency 


13 


but  that  the  Publishing  House  would  have  the  honor  of  a  visit  from 
these  distinguished  official  guests,  and  especially  that  those  who  had 
contributed  so  royally  toward  this  enterprise  would  have  one  so  com¬ 
petent  as  Dr.  Goucher  to  investigate  and  report  upon  their  invest¬ 
ments. 

As  the  Press  had  up  to  this  time  had  no  official  opening,  I  deter¬ 
mined  to  make  their  visit  an  occasion  which  would  ever  after  be 
noted  as  the  real  beginning  of  the  many-sided  work  of  the  Publishing 
House. 

The  thought  grew  upon  me  that  no  more  beautiful  unfolding  of 
the  enterprise  could  happen  than  that  Dr.  Goucher  should  first  set  in 


ANOTHER  CORNER  OF  THE  PRESS  ROOM 


Methodist  Episcopal  Memorial  Publishing  House,  Madras,  India 

motion,  at  one  time,  all  the  machinery  brought  together  by  the  gifts 
of  the  people  who  justly  hold  him  in  such  high  esteem. 

It  was  far  in  the  summer  before  the  last  large  official  envelope 
reached  the  Press  from  the  last  inspector,  giving  official  sanction  to 
the  last  step  needed  to  bring  all  this  about.  As  Bishop  Foss  and  Dr. 
Goucher  were  to  visit  our  part  of  the  work  in  December,  we  must  be 
ready  at  that  time,  but  in  slow-moving  India  it  seemed  an  almost  im¬ 
possible  task. 

To  my  great  relief,  it  was  arranged  that  their  visit  should  take 
place  after  the  sessions  of  South  India  Conference,  because  by  this 
arrangement  the  opening  was  postponed  some  days.  The  time  ap¬ 
pointed  for  the  Conference  was  Dec.  9,  and  the  place  Bangalore.  The 
latest  we  could  leave  Madras,  in  order  to  be  present  at  the  opening 
session,  was  the  evening  of  Dec.  8.  By  working  from  daylight  to  far 


14 


A  Unique  and  Valuable  Missionary  Agency 


into  the  night  for  months  together,  we  were  enabled  to  test  every 
machine  and  light  the  entire  place  from  the  Press  dynamo.  But 
about  noon  on  Dec.  7  steam  was  turned  on  from  the  thirty  horse¬ 
power  boiler,  all  the  connections  made,  and  for  the  first  time  every 
machine  moved  at  the  same  time.  The  sight  was  so  inspiring,  after 
these  many  years  of  toil,  that  the  employees  rent  the  air  with  a 
spontaneous  burst  of  cheers.  In  order  to  cap  the  climax  I  turned  on 
the  electric  lights,  but  the  globes  looked  as  if  they  contained  red-hot 
hairpins,  the  arc  lights  up  in  the  photo-engraving  rooms  only  sizzled 


BINDERY  DEPARTMENT 

Methodist  Episcopal  Memorial  Publishing  House,  Madras,  India 

* 

and  emitted  a  few  reddish  sparks,  and  the  cheering  was  followed  by 
silence.  This  made  it  clear  that  the  machinery  ought  to  be  well 
tested  as  a  whole  before  any  formal  opening  was  attempted.  I  ex¬ 
amined  carefully  every  part  of  the  dynamo  and  its  connections,  but 
could  not  locate  the  trouble.  The  belt  slipping,  of  course  the  speed 
of  the  dynamo  slackened,  so  that  it  generated  a  very  feeble  current. 
We  resorted  to  the  usual  remedies — tightening  the  belt,  using  differ¬ 
ent  substances  to  prevent  slipping,  etc.,  but  all  to  no  avail.  It  now 

■v 

became  apparent  that  the  belt  was  not  wide  enough  to  transmit  the 
required  power,  and  that  the  builders  of  this  splendid  London  engine 
had  not  furnished  a  pulley  wide  enough  to  move  at  one  time  so  much 
high-speed  machinery.  After  some  hours  we  noticed  the  engine 
pulley  could  not  be  found. 

It  was  now  after  four  o’clock.  I  must  leave  for  Conference  the 
next  evening.  What  was  to  be  done  must  be  done  quickly.  I  must 
get  a  pulley  of  the  same  diameter,  the  same  bore,  but  five  inches 


A  Unique  and  Valuable  Missionary  Agency 


15 


wider.  My  two  years’  experience  in  hunting  through  the  bazaars 
and  shops  in  Madras  made  it  plain  to  me  that  there  was  only  one 
place  in  this  region  where  there  was  a  likelihood  of  my  getting  such 
a  pulley.  It  was  a  large  native  foundry  in  the  suburbs  of  Madras. 
I  hired  a  carriage  and  paid  the  driver  to  go  at  full  speed.  It  was 
some  miles,  and  we  arrived  there  at  half  past  five,  just  as  the  em¬ 
ployees  had  gone  and  the  manager  was  about  to  close.  I  explained 
the  difficulty,  how  that  it  was  announced  that  Dr.  Goucher  would 
start  all  the  machinery,  and  the  engine  pulley  had  failed  to  do  its 
required  work.  He  said  it  was  hardly  worth  while  to  go  in  and  look, 
for  he  was  certain  he  had  no  such  pulley.  After  some  persuasion  he 
turned  back,  and  we  hunted  over  perhaps  an  acre  of  ground  strewn 
with  all  sorts  of  things  in  iron  imaginable — pulleys,  old  boilers, 
parts  of  printing  presses,  fences,  and  what  not.  Then  into  sheds  and 
all  sorts  of  quaint  places,  but  nowhere  the  pulley  I  wanted.  He  said, 
almost  impatiently,  “I  must  go;  I  told  you  it  could  not  be  found.” 
‘‘Is  there  no  other  place?”  I  asked.  “Have  we  looked  everywhere? 
Let  me  look  back  of  that  shed.”  Without  waiting  for  a  reply  I  ran 
and  peeped  back  of  the  shed.  There  lay  a  pulley  among  some 
rubbish.  We  fished  it  out.  I  held  my  breath  while  we  measured  it. 
The  manager  laughed  outright,  and  said,  “This  is  your  pulley.”  I 
was  not  long  fastening  it  to  the  carriage,  and  away  we  drove.  It 
was  old  and  rusty  and  partly  muddy,  but  I  don’t  think  a  woman  ever 
looked  on  her  diamonds  with  greater  admiration  than  I  did  on  that 
dirty  old  pulley.  On  arriving  at  the  Press  I  found  the  men  in  charge 
of  the  machinery  waiting  for  me,  and  they  carried  the  pulley  in 
triumph  to  the  engine.  Its  bore  was  bushed,  or  lined  with  wrought 
iron,  and  the  bore  of  this  bush  was  almost  the  sixteenth  of  an  inch 
too  small  for  the  engine  shafting.  By  the  light  of  tallow  candles  our 
men  began  to  file  out  the  bore.  I  soon  woke  up  to  the  fact  that  even 
if  we  got  the  pulley  fitted  on  we  had  no  belt  wide  enough.  The 
length  of  the  engine  belt  was  twenty-four  feet,  by  five  inches  in 
width.  I  had  a  duplicate  belt,  and  sent  for  ten  chucklers  or  native 
shoemakers,  who,  after  the  usual  wrangling  for  extortion,  agreed  to 
fasten  these  two  belts  together  by  crosspieces  a  little  over  eight 
inches  apart,  each  one  being  one  inch  in  width.  They  were  stitched 
on  the  upper  side  of  the  belt,  so  as  not  to  interfere  with  its  move¬ 
ment. 

It  was  daylight  wThen  everything  was  in  readiness  and  the  big  belt 
began  its  work.  Now  it  seemed  to  play  with  the  machines,  and  all 
was  well  except  the  untrue  movement  of  the  pulley,  which  was 
caused  by  irregular  fitting  on  the  engine  shaft.  This  was  righted 
next  day,  and  my  wife  and  I  started  for  Conference  in  the  evening. 

Changing  Shafting 

When  it  seemed  for  a  time  as  if  difficulties  were  vanishing  and  we 
might  soon  open  work  in  every  department,  I  was  brought  face  to 


16 


A  Unique  and  Valuable  Missionary  Agency 


face  with  obstacles  that  rose  mountain  high  and  seemed  insur¬ 
mountable. 

It  was  found  that  our  Press  came  within  range  of  the  new  Indian 
Factory  act.  We  were  visited  by  the  inspector  of  police,  the  boiler 


PHOTOGRAPHING  PLANT 

Methodist  Episcopal  Memorial  Publishing  House.  Madras,  India 

inspector,  the  sanitary  inspector,  the  inspector  of  machinery,  and 
the  inspector  of  buildings,  until  it  seemed  to  me  the  poor  Press 
would  have  ail  the  life  inspected  out  of  it.  The  police  inspector  de¬ 
cided  we  came  under  the  Factory  act,  the  boiler  inspector  suggested 
changes  in  our  steam  equipment,  the  building  inspector  called  for 
increased  floor  space  and  the  rebuilding  of  our  temporary  structures, 
the  sanitary  inspector  handed  me  over  to  the  tender  mercies  of  the 


A  Unique  and  Valuable.  Missionary  Agency 


17 


plumbers  for  improved  drainage,  and  the  inspector  of  machines 
suggested  a  new  system  of  protection  for  the  operation  of  machines. 

One  of  the  results  of  all  this  inspection  was  that  it  became  neces¬ 
sary  to  place  under  the  cement  floor  about  one  hundred  feet  of  main 


preparing  the  plates 


Methodist  Episcopal  Memorial  Publishing  House,  Madras,  India 

shafting,  which  extended  throughout  the  length  of  nearly  three 
workrooms.  This  cement  floor  was  laid  on  from  six  to  eight  inches 
of  concrete  ground,  so  hard  that  it  was  like  stone,  which  would  make 
the  digging  extremely  difficult.  To  lower  the  shafting,  with  its  pul¬ 
leys,  it  would  be  necessary  to  dig  a  trench  the  entire  length,  three 
feet  wide  and  three  feet  deep.  This  trench  must  then  be  walled 
with  brick  and  the  shafting  and  pulleys  let  down  into  it.  The  earth 


18 


A  Unique  and  Valuable  Missionary  Agency 


must  be  excavated  and  carried  outside,  brick  and  mortar  and  sand 
carried  inside,  and  the  foundation  and  walls  built. 

Only  one  who  has  had  a  practical  knowledge  of  the  mathematical 
accuracy  with  which  belting,  pulleys,  ,ounter-shafting,  and  shafting 
driving  high-speed  machinery  must  be  adjusted  can  form  an  idea  of 
the  difficulties  attending  such  an  undertaking. 

To  have  this  change  made  speedily  I  thought  the  only  way  out  was 
to  enlist  the  services  of  a  skilled  machinist.  But  I  had  had,  a  few 
months  previous,  a  bit  of  experience.  I  had  engaged  one  who,  in¬ 
stead  of  really  helping  me,  with  a  calm  delight  and  inflexible  con¬ 
stancy,  proceeded  to  extract  rupees,  and  I  was  compelled  to  take  up 
and  complete  the  unfinished  work. 

I  shuddered  inwardly  at  the  thought  of  being  in  the  teeth  and 
claws  of  such  a  rupee  extractor  a  second  time.  Still,  as  it  was  the 
hottest  time  of  the  year  in  torrid  Madras,  and  in  addition  to  all  other 
duties  I  was  pastor  of  Vepery  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  I  did  not 
feel  like  assuming  this  undertaking. 

I  called  to  see  the  manager  of  a  large  machine  shop,  and  after 
stating  what  was  needed  asked  him  how  long  it  would  take.  He  ex¬ 
plained  that  the  first  thing  to  do  was  to  give  out  the  contract  for 
digging  the  ditch  and  carrying  out  the  dirt,  then  the  next  contract 
would  be  with  the  stonecutters  and  the  bricklayers;  the  bearings 
must  be  prepared,  beltings  lengthened,  counter-shafting  readjusted, 
a  number  of  machines  moved  and  reset,  and  numerous  unforeseen 
things  were  to  be  done.  Therefore  it  would  take  from  four  to  six 
weeks.  From  past  experiences  I  knew  this  meant  at  least  two 
months  of  rupee  extracting. 

It  was  useless  to  urge  that  we  were  printing  a  weekly  paper,  were 
crowded  with  reports  which  could  not  be  delayed,  and  such  a  lengthy 
interruption  could  not  be  thought  of. 

Without  stopping  to  think  what  it  meant,  I  said,  “I  can  do  it  in  one 
night  without  stopping  the  machinery.”  He  looked  at  me  as  though 
I  had  said  I  would  climb  to  the  moon  or  something  equivalent  to  it. 
I  left  that  manager  with  a  determination  to  do  it  in  the  time  I  said, 
if  possible. 

After  a  thorough  study  of  what  was  to  be  done,  and  then  mapping 
out  the  work  for  every  hour,  I  put  on  nearly  one  hundred  men  to  do 
this  work,  and  from  4.30  a.  m.  one  day  to  8  a.  m.  the  following  morn¬ 
ing,  the  shafting  was  lowered  and  the  machines  all  running  without 
interrupting  the  regular  running  of  the  Press.  But  through  that 
scorching  heat  I  never  left  the  work  until  it  was  finished.  Not  only 
was  the  machinery  running,  but  the  rubbish  was  all  cleared  away. 

When  my  machinist  friend  saw  what  had  been  done  he  exclaimed, 
“O,  that’s  the  way  with  you  Americans!” 


A  Unique  and  Valuable  Missionary  Agency 


19 


A  Prayer  Strike 

Prom  the  first  every  day’s  work  of  the  printing  office  was  opened 
with  religious  services  in  the  Tamil  language,  and  all  hands  required 
to  be  present.  Among  the  workmen  are  those  representing  different 
religious  faiths — Mohammedans,  Hindus,  Roman  Catholics,  Metho¬ 
dists,  and  of  the  Church  of  England — harmoniously  commencing  the 
day’s  work  with  a  Bible  reading,  singing  hymns,  such  as  “Rock  of 
Ages,”  or  “Jesus,  Lover  of  my  soul,”  and  all  devoutly  standing  while 
led  in  prayer.  So  far  as  is  known,  it  is  the  first  time  in  the  history  of 
the  world  that  Hindus  and  Mohammedans,  still  clinging  to  their 
faith,  meet  in  daily  religious  exercises  with  Christians;  and  an  in¬ 
teresting  fact  is  that  some  of  the  orthodox  Hindus  take  their  turn 
at  reading  the  Bible  lesson  for  the  morning. 

But  this  striking  innovation  of  holding  prayers  with  Hindus  and 
Mohammedans  was  not  all  smooth  sailing.  The  plan  was  carried 
out  for  the  first  few  months  with  comparatively  little  difficulty,  when 
a  “prayer  strike”  was  organized,  and  for  a  time  threatened  to  bring 
these  devotional  exercises  to  a  sudden  termination.  The  ringleaders 
waited  on  me  and  informed  me  that  unless  “master  opens  like  other 
offices — no  pray,  no  sing,  no  read  Bible — all  the  Hindus  and  Moham¬ 
medans  will  stop  work.” 

I  called  the  men  together  and  asked,  “Shall  I  pray  my  God  to  curse 
you,  your  wives,  and  your  little  ones?” 

All  seemed  horrified  at  the  suggestion. 

“Then  would  you  not  rather  I  should  ask  Him  to  bless  you  and 
yours?”  I  said. 

All  assented. 

“But  that  is  just  what  I  have  been  doing  every  morning.  Where, 
then,  is  the  trouble?” 

After  some  further  parleying  the  leader’s  frown  passed  away,  and 
he  cried,  “Master  talks  very  good.”  Prayers  then  went  on  as  usual. 


A  Threefold  Opportunity 

By  our  unique  combination  of  machinery  we  are  able  to  produce 
illustrated  standard  Christian  literature  at  such  low  cost  that  the 
poverty-stricken  masses  of  India  can  afford  to  buy,  and  the  beautiful 
pictures  of  scenes  and  incidents  familiar  to  them  will  be  an  induce¬ 
ment.  The  natives  love  pictures.  The  carpenter  who  cannot  write 
his  name  affixes  instead  the  picture  of  a  gimlet;  the  weaver,  a  shut¬ 
tle;  the  cutler,  a  sword;  the  potter,  a  vase.  Even  the  women,  whose 
education  is  woefully  neglected,  will  draw  on  the  ground  beautiful 
and  intricate  designs.  It  seems  reasonable,  therefore,  that  pictures 
should  be  made  spiritually  helpful  to  this  picture-loving  people. 

For  ages  visible  representations  of  blood-curdling  divinities  in 
pictures,  in  wood,  and  in  stone  have  streamed  in  upon  the  minds  of 


20  A  Unique  and  Valuable  Missionary  Agency 

the  people,  and  because  their  natural  tendency  is  to  cling  to  and  de¬ 
fend  what  their  fathers  venerated,  if  you  hold  their  idois  up  to  ridi¬ 
cule  or  point  out  their  hideousness,  they  cling  to  them  more  closely. 
There  is  a  more  excellent  way.  Since  they  love  pictures,  why  not 
meet  them  on  their  own  grounds?  Children  will  be  allowed  to  carry 
pictures  into  houses  in  which  a  missionary  dare  not  set  his  foot;  and 
pictures  will  not  express  antagonism,  but  will  lead  the  people  to  in¬ 
quire  into  their  history  and  meaning,  while  this  inquiry  itself  may 
be  used  by  the  Holy  Spirit  to  awaken  pure  thoughts  and  noble  as¬ 
pirations,  even  among  the  most  degraded. 

A  threefold  opportunity  is  afforded  to  disseminate  the  knowledge 
of  Christ: 

1.  By  replacing  the  portraits  of  hideous  idols  on  the  walls  of  native 
homes  with  Christian  pictures  and  illuminated  Scripture  texts. 

2.  By  selling  Christian  tracts  and  standard  works  at  a  low  price, 
low  enough  to  enable  the  poverty-stricken  masses  of  India  to  buy. 

3.  By  the  pianufacture  and  free  distribution  of  Bible  booklets  in 
all  the  languages  in  which  the  Bible  is  printed. 

We  have  found  since  introducing  the  stereopticon  that  it  is  a 
powerful  aid  to  this  work.  For  twenty  years  and  more  the  magic 
lantern,  with  its  pictures  illustrating  the  Bible,  “Pilgrim’s  Progress,” 
and  standard  religious  books,  has  been  found  to  be  very  effective  in 
India.  The  people  are  always  ready,  after  their  evening  meal,  to  sit 
in  groups,  gaze  at  the  pictures,  and  listen  to  the  missionary  explain¬ 
ing  them.  But  the  magic  lantern,  with  its  coal  oil  lamp,  cannot  pro¬ 
ject  pictures  large  enough  to  be  seen  by  great  masses  of  people,  such 
as  very  often  collect  in  India.  The  natives  hold  monthly  and  an¬ 
nual  festivals,  at  which  will  gather  from  ten  to  one  hundred  thou¬ 
sand  people. 

In  some  instances  one  million  persons  have  been  known  to  attend 
a  single  sacred  feast.  Indeed,  on  one  occasion  it  was  computed  by  a 
Calcutta  paper  that  three  million  Hindus  attended  a  sacred  feast  in 
northern  India.  For  nearly  a  whole  day,  from  the  car  window  of  an 
express  train  traveling  at  the  rate  of  perhaps  forty  miles  an  hour,  I 
beheld  the  great  throng. 

If  by  the  aid  of  the  calcium  light  and  stereopticon  we  project  illus¬ 
trated  sermons  on  a  large  screen,  we  can  easily  attract  and  hold  the 
attention  of  these  dense  masses  of  humanity,  and  afterward  at  booths 
brilliantly  lighted  by  electricity  we  can  give  away  the  booklets.  It 
will  result  in  the  sale  of  Christian  literature  on  a  scale  far  beyond 
anything  in  the  past.  Several  experiments  only  partially  carrying 
out  this  plan  have  met  with  success  beyond  our  most  sanguine  ex¬ 
pectations.  Other  methods  of  distribution  and  selling  will  also  be 
adopted,  and  every  effort  made  to  reach  great  multitudes. 


Baltimore,  Md. 


HE  Methodist  Episcopal  Publishing 
House  in  Madras,  India,  is  the  most 
many-sided  mission  press  in  the  world. 
Every  department  of  printing — photo¬ 
engraving,  electrotyping,  half-tone  print¬ 
ing,  booklet  manufacturing — is  cleverly 
prosecuted  by  Hindus  who  have  been 
taught  by  the  talented  agent  of  the 
press.  More  than  that,  he  learned  the  mysteries  of 
the  electric  lighting  plant  and  works  it  successfully. 
Dr.  A.  W.  Rudisill,  the  superintendent,  is  a  rare  genius, 
and  his  many  talents  have  been  thoroughly  conse¬ 
crated  to  God.  One  of  his  newest  ideas  is  the  Bible 
Booklets,  small  portions  of  the  Scripture  in  the  form 
of  little  books,  never  larger  than  two  by  three  inches 
and  never,  including  cover,  containing  more  than 
sixteen  pages.  They  are  to  be  issued  in  all  the 
languages  and  dialects  in  which  the  Bible  is  printed. 
Christians  in  America  are  given  the  privilege  of  in¬ 
vesting  any  amount  of  money  in  them.  The  interest 
of  the  money  is  gauranteed  by  the  Bible  Booklet 
Society  to  be  devoted  to  the  perpetual  annual  free  dis¬ 
tribution  of  Bible  Booklets.  They  are  rated  at  five  hun¬ 
dred  pages  for  one  cent,  three  thousand  for  six  cents, 
fifty  thousand  for  a  dollar,  and  fifteen  million  for 
three  hundred  dollars. 

— From  Sunday  School  Journal ,  Aug.,  1900. 


Bible  Booklets 

Are  endorsed  by  the 

Rev.  John  Sharp,  M.A.,  Secretary  of  the  British  and 
Foreign  Bible  Society,  London. 

R.  C.  Morgan,  Editor  of  The  Christian ,  London 

Rev.  F.  B.  Meyer,  B.A.,  distinguished  author  and 
preacher,  London. 

Rev.  Edward  W.  Gilman,  D.D.,  Secretary  of  the 
American  Bible  Society,  New  York  city. 

Rev.  James  M.  Thoburn,  D.D.,  Methodist  Episcopal 
Missionary  Bishop  of  Southern  Asia. 

General  Missionary  Committee  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church. 

Second  National  Biblical  Congress,  held  at  Washing¬ 
ton,  D.  C.,  April  17-19,  1900,  convened  by  the 
Regents  of  the  American  Society  of  Religious 
Education,  of  which  Hon.  J.  M.  Harlan,  Associ¬ 
ate  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court,  is  the  president. 

Missionary  Committee  of  the  last  General  Conference, 
held  at  Chicago. 

Baltimore  Annual  Conference. 

Philadelphia  Annual  Conference. 

Central  Pennsylvania  Annual  Conference. 

Philadelphia  Preachers’  Meeting. 

New  York  Preachers’  Meeting. 

and  many  others. 

For  further  information,  address 

Rev.  A.  W.  RUDISILL, 

1227  Myrtle  Avenue,  Baltimore,  Md. 


